Labor Force and Unemployment

Plentiful supply of labor within Region coupled with moderate unemployment rate.

Washington County and the South Central Indiana Region has a labor force of 110,000, as shown in the table below. When combined with the labor shed from outside the Region but within a 30-minute commute, the labor shed grows by nearly half a million more.

Eight-County South Central Indiana Region Labor Force and Unemployment 1997-2007
	Labor Force	Unemployed
1997	106,812	4,941
1998	106,455	4,596
1999	106,385	4,449
2000	109,575	3,839
2001	109,767	5,596
2002	109,481	6,303
2003	109,543	6,217
2004	108,782	6,159
2005	110,193	6,472
2006	111,417	6,013
2007	110,511	5,191

Source: Stats Indiana

The Region’s average annual unemployment rate for the past eleven years is shown below.
South Central Indiana Region Average Unemployment Rate